I've been trying to get prepared for a number of things one of which being a pandemic. Most of the information I come across is trying to calm people down instead of telling them how to prepare for the idea of a global pandemic. Whereas I don't stay up nights worrying about this particular problem it would be unwise to ignore it completely. I would like to build my own kit with gowns (hazmat suits if best but that’s in the future when I have a few hundred dollars to throw away) masks, gloves and such. I just want to make sure I get exactly what I need. I'd hate to get boxes of masks that aren't thick enough to protect us. I found in some kit online face masks with 97.5% bacteria filtration? Then I did a search on amazon and I was amazed at the different types of masks there are! What should I look for? Any information would be great.

Tamiflu. Buy that. And if you have enough money, buy some more. And after you have enough Tamiflu if you want to spend some more money on something that will help you survive the next great flu pandemic, go ahead and buy some more Tamiflu.

If taken with 48 hours of infection, and continuously throughout the course of the virus, it is effective against every form of the flu currently know.

After you have far more tamiflu then you and your family could ever need even if you needed it every day for two months then a few gallons of bleach, some hepa air filters for your vents+ duck tape and some spray bottles to spray door knobs / car door handles / everything else which people touch and or breath on with a bleach solution.

Hazmat suits are silly and unpractical. A pandemic is not a cloud that passes over, and those suits are not long term items.

Mask quality is important. The Influenza A viron is a nanometer in size (one billion fit in a meter.) a more relative scale is that 7000 virons fit in the tiny hole between fibers in a Hanes tee shirt. (Hint: the "tee shirt mask" touted by MIT's science students and the government is absolutely dangerous since it gives you a false sense of security.)

For the average person an N95 mask is adequate. Keep away from anyone coughing or sneezing and you'll be fine.

Do NOT get surgical masks! They are designed to protect the patient, not the wearer. They dO not have a good side seal and you're not protected.

A better mask is an N100 respirator like the 3M 8233 which is disposible and has a rubber gasket around the edges. If you are taking care of someone who is sick, this is the mask you should be wearing.

The best is a hooded positive airflow respirator with a hepa filter (these are the hoods with a clear face shield, but they are mega bucks.)

For the suits this is a source I buy in case lots and the price is reasonable, yhou can also get them in individual purchases. The cheapest I have found masks is Amazon. Do not forget the gloves which can have multiple uses. http://www.disposable-garments.com/prod ... 7QodKAkA2Q

Distance protects better than any mask or suit. The flu virus can also live on the outside (or inside) of your mask or suit just fine for ten days or more. I am not saying do not have a mask, I have one myself, but they should be used perhps to move through a contaminated area or group and get to a spot where you can decontaminate with bleach. However a pandemic, more then any other SHTF situation, is something I would shelter in place for. A mask is still good for talking to police/medical personal that might come around, or if you need to confront nieghbors/uninvited guests who try and enter your home and barrow some food without asking. Also useful if one member of your household/group becomes infected, so you can treat them.

But just avoiding sick people and having Tamiflu and some cough/fever meds on hand is a better plan then getting an expensive suit and mask. They can give you a false sense of security and both are perfectly capable of being contaminated, letting you bring the flu into your home with you after an outing. Avoidence, when it comes to biological threats, is the key to survival.

Well when I went through the relatively mild Pandemic event here a few years ago we preached Self-quarantine to the people. Didn’t go over very well most folks wouldn’t go for this. They wanted Tamiflu to combat the virus. Unfortunately we only had limited supplies of Tamiflu, a few million doses, so we triaged the population as to who got the drugs. Basically you had to be symptomatic, >2 and <65 to get the drug. Unfortunately Tamiflu works best if the regimen is started before you are sick but offers no residual protection if you cease taking it. Given the cost we simply couldn’t afford to issue Tamiflu to the general population as a preventive measure. We could only offer it as a suppressive agent to get you through the disease with less effect. A vaccine is the way to go if one exists, for the H1N1 event we had to wait many months for large quantities to become available. We planned for phase 1 of the Pandemic to last 8 to 12 weeks so that was the time we suggested you self-quarantine your family. You can see why it didn’t work, how you will pay your bills if you don’t go to work etc... So if you can afford it get what you need and maybe plan to isolate yourselves from the general public, do a lot of hand washing, wear masks, oh and make sure any infected also wear the mask as it was suggested by the PTB that this is a very effective measure in curtailing the event. Just plan on taking out a second mortgage to pay for the Tamiflu you will need to get through an 8-12 weeks event. Afterwards you can start over prepping for Phase 2 and maybe 3 of the event. Oh, usually Phase 2 is the worse phase, not a rule just a trend.

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."......James Dean7-SC

Isolation, yes. Best prevention. Washing up. N95 & gloves. Also if you must go in public, change clothes (or outer layer) before coming in your home. Including shoes. Hazmat suit, I bet those are $$. What about "tyvek" coveralls, like lead abatement workers wear? Those are not terrible expensive. Treatment : unless tamiflu has been improved, I wouldn't spend $$ on something that barely (if at all) reduces symptoms/duration. aspirin, Tylenol, mucinex. Secondary infection kills more people than flu itself. I read similar reports of elderberry extracts working in flu prevention. We can & should try preventives. No shame in wearing mask & gloves in public. Beats being sick as a dog.

Sick Room Supplies. If there is a wide-spread pandemic you will NOT be able to get medical care from your physician or the hospital. There will be too many ill and dying. Gather the supplies you will need to nurse your family AT HOME. Gather those supplies now. I have a lot of information about that over on my EmergencyHomePreparation site. Go here for info on sickrooms: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One -k

NOTE: you should gather the items needed to care for family members for flu NOW, as well. Do it before you need them, so that you can stay at home, care for your family and NOT go out in the mix of coughing, hacking and ill folks at the last minute, when the illness is circulating through your community or the needed meds are not on the shelf. -k

Kr105: what do you think about the use of Benadryl to calm an up set stomach? I have used it and seems to help settle an up set stomach.

Also what about the use of these lights and machines that claim to destroy germs in the air. Do you know of any studies that have looked at these claims? I noticed that my dentist's office is even using one. Thanks

You can buy Tamiflu online as well, though you do not always get actual tamiflu (which is bad) because of the number of bogus sites.

During flu season if you get the sniffles you may be able to talk your doctor into writing you a prescription. Most Walmart can fill it. And yes without a prescription is pretty expensive.

Oseltamivir is the generic name for Tamiflu (the actual drugs name) and you can buy it online for about $50 for a box of ten from various online Canadian pharmacies. I wont link any, but you should be able to find them with Google.

Tamiflu does have side effects, and I would not take it for normal flu or swine flu (which I have had), but in a global pandemic of something like Avian flu with its very high mortality rate, well I can not think of a better way to spend $150-$200 than on 40 tamiflu pills. No other drug is effective against Avian flu the same way Tamiflu is, if taken from the onset of the virus. And with the sort of fatality rate it has, I am personally not going to take a chance in such a situation with elderberries and cough medicine.